battlemunky

I've done a little bit of blind sewing, it isn't really that much poking if you follow the leading thread. Your holes should be pretty much in line and once you get going there should only be a distance of a few mm you are stitching through. It is more of a probing than a poking. Even if you sandwich it you will still have an element of probing around to find the hole.

I've been using 3/4 oz HO and am pretty happy with it.

Welcome, I look forward to seeing more of your work and learning from you!

That is crazy cool @BDAZ, thanks for sharing it.

I have two different nickel plated Tandy buckles and "needed" some more pricking irons the other day and tossed a stainless buckle in my cart for the free shipping, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I've also been working on my stitching and have improved it a ton. Its just nerve wracking and I need to just do it.

follow the lead thread for instance, from the leather side, go straight through and try and pierce the sharpie line and then on the return trip, squish it down to get close and probe until you find the hole.....(super want to make a joke right now) Does that make sense? I'm seeing it in my head really well and may not be putting it in words well enough at all. The toughest hole would be the first one on each start.

Yep, that is what I want mine to look like. I have a blank dyed and lined, just need to sew the liner and add buckle, etc. It's my first belt and I am intimidated like crazy.

Look super nice.

I would do it exactly the same way as the video but sew by hand.You'll be sewing one side blind but it'll be fine.

#wisdom

Man, Jeff, that looks great!

Yep, that video does it. May be a bit more difficult with leather depending on the temper. Some milled veg may work perfectly.

Same here, looks mighty fine!

That is super cool even before you look at the craftsmanship that went into it.

Beeswax.

That is some determination right there! How long did it take setting all those studs? They looks good and straight

You can wet it and fold it pretty tight. You could also use a groover or a creaser to make a line/groove in it to help the fold since 6/7 is pretty stout. You may want to try youtube for some actual footage as well.

Your work is beautiful @Lineets!

Looks good Mike. What leather is that? It's like a fat milled look but not sure if that is actually milled or just character from the critter it came from.

Gotcha dude, if you change your mind, let me know and I can pass you some samples. That knock off stuff is pretty similar but it is different.

Really cool design and a huge thanks for posting your pattern, source, and instructions!

That decorative stitching is super cool and I kick myself for not thinking of it myself! I think everyone else has answered the draw bit well enough but to be fair, unless he will be trying some action shooting stuff with it, it'll likely be fine for EDC. Practice can get him around any life or death timing issues with it if he plans to use it that way.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/260M-210D-1MM-Leather-Sewing-Waxed-Wax-Thread-Hand-Stitching-Cord-Craft-DIY-/172852478946?var=&hash=item283ecf83e2 Above is similar to what I bought. Being ebay, the auction ended so I had to find a "similar" auction but it looks the same to me and has similar wording. Here is the Ritza link I bought from on Amazon (Rocky Mtn Leather Supply): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5NHCJZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If you want @Chief Filipino, PM me your address and I'll send you some of the Ritza and some of the knock off so you can see the difference and help guide your decision making.

Welcome @Daes! I think you have come to the right spot. There is a pretty good group of folks here and a wealth of information. If you have pics of your work, post 'em up!

I bought a bunch of the Ritza knock off thread and it is quite good too. It isn't Ritza but it is still good, strong, and bright. You know how Ritza is almost hard? This isn't like that but similar in most other respects.